


Conclusion: Part One

by sirknightmordred



Series: Malec AU Works - Part One [47]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-09
Updated: 2017-07-09
Packaged: 2018-11-30 02:10:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11453781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sirknightmordred/pseuds/sirknightmordred
Summary: Jace finds out the truth, and Max pays the price.{Part of my Malec AU ask blog.}





	Conclusion: Part One

**Author's Note:**

> Part of a Malec AU ask blog. Where Valentine is dead and the war is over. More info in the blog. {https://askmagnusandalec.tumblr.com/}

_I knew you were trouble when you walked in.  
So shame on me now._

It was like time stood still when he walked through that door and his eyes locked with those dark piercing ones he’s come to know so well. He expected to see the same compassion and protectiveness he’s come to understand lies in Sebastian’s heart, but instead he finds an anger, an evil so fierce that it rocks him to his core. It makes everything stop, makes Jace freeze like a statue as his heart falls. His grip on his seraph blade falters, his mind a buzz with white noise. A cold water fills his veins, something akin to shock. Then Sebastian smiles.

It’s more of a smirk, really, but it sends chills up Jace’s spine. His arms and legs now full of goosebumps, his brain stuck on a frequency of shock. The way he looks at him though, he’s never done that before or maybe he has. Maybe in the heat of the moment he’s seen that kind of predatory gaze, but he was barely conscious then. Too lost in the passion. If he wasn’t he would have been the evilness behind those eyes. He would have went running in the opposite direction, or would he have? He’s not really sure anymore. He’s not really sure of anything anymore.

‘Welcome, darling.’ Sebastian mouths the words, not speaking, not wanting to frighten the two in front of him.

_He was long gone when he met me._

_And I realize the joke is on me._

It’s Maryse, the only mother he’s ever known. One of the only parents that is still in his life, the one who took him in to her family. The one who called him her son. She’s staring at Sebastian with a mix of worry and terror, but before that is a stubbornness all Lightwoods where. A defiance, a stance that is strong and determined. It doesn’t seem to scare Sebastian, but it should, thinks Jace as he watches her hands come up into fists. She has no weapons, but that doesn’t stop a Shadowhunter. She’s standing in front of someone, another Lightwood. His younger brother, not by blood but by love and loyalty. It’s Max Lightwood.

Most would think that in the face of danger a child would be huddled in a ball, maybe crying or staring into nothing, but he’s not just a child, he’s a Shadowhunter, a Lightwood. He stands tall behind his mother, small fists at the ready. His eyes hold fear, but the rest of him shows that same Lightwood determination and stubbornness. He doesn’t try to walk in front of his mother, he stays behind, most likely a command from her that he decided to follow, but his feet are at the ready. They’re pointed out in case the fight starts and he needs to throw his own punches. But Maryse Lightwood would never let that happen. She may be used to old ways and is still struggling to accept her family the way it is, but if there’s one thing Jace and anyone else can count on, it’s that she will protect her children at all costs.

Jace watches all of this in a matter of seconds. The smile on Sebastian’s lips, the lips Jace remembers kissing only the night before, never falters. He turns away from Jace, his strong arms rippling under his shirt as he moves to his belt. Arms that Jace knows the feeling of all too well, wrapped around him, holding him close and soft teasing words that promised to never let go. His arms come back up, knife in his left hand, glinting in the lights on the ceiling. It comes down hard and fast as Jace snaps out of his shock and takes a step forward. But he is too late. Maryse is slashed across the face, she fights back as the knife plunges into her stomach. She falls over, her breathing barely there.

_And the saddest fear comes creeping in…_

_That you never loved me or her, or anyone, or anything._

“Nooooooo!!!!” Jace screams as he runs.

Sebastian’s knife comes down again just as Jace grabs him, pushing them both over. He fights with Sebastian, trying to gain control. All he feels is a white hot furry that fills his every bone, and a pain so deep in his chest, where his heart is, he feels like he is being ripped apart. That would have been easier, he thinks as he acts on instinct alone, grabbing the knife and holding it up. He knows he should just do it, stab it in Sebastian’s heart like **he** stabbed **him** , but he can’t. He hesitates.

“Come on, darling.” Sebastian says, his eyes growing even more black than usual. “Be a good boy and finish the job.”

He’s not struggling under Jace’s weight. There’s no resistance or fight against him. According to the law he should arrest him, let the Clave and Downworlder representatives decide his fate, but he can’t. The pain, the anger, it swallows him whole as the knife comes down straight into his heart. Sebastian gasps in pain. Blood flows from the wound where the knife is embedded as Sebastian takes a few last breaths. They’re hard and slow, and his eyes stare up into Jace’s. For a split second as he takes his last breath, Jace swears he sees a glint of love and peace. A glint.

_And he’s long gone when he’s next to me._

_And I realize the blame is on me._

Jace stands up, his hands full of blood as he stares at the dead body of his boyfriend. The man who pushed his boundaries, made him become something else. He made him become a murder. He’s always been a killer, but that’s a part of being a soldier. He accepted that a long time ago. But now he’s a murder. He’s a murder. It makes Jace want to jump off a bridge or put his hands in hot boiling water. There’s an impulse to be reckless to end his life. He doesn’t know where it comes from, not really, but it’s there. Jace places his hand on his chest that throbs in unseen pain, where his heart is, as he swallows the impulse and turns around.

_Flew me to places I’d never been,_

_‘Til you put me down._

Max lays there, eyes wide open and unseeing. Blood blossoms out of the stomach wound. It oozes out and pools around him. There’s so much blood everywhere. It encircles his little brother, making him into some kind of angel of death. He’s so young, so innocent. He never even got to have his first rune ceremony. He never really got to be a Shadowhunter, and now he’s gone.

Jace stares and stares, not fully comprehending what he’s seeing. Not yet, anyway. He walks over and kneels down, His hand hovers over Max’s cheek. Tears spring to his eyes as he whispers brokenly, “Max.”

_Now I’m lying on the cold hard ground._


End file.
